When To Cold Condition?

[cpsmusic]

Hi,

I'd like to try cold conditioning an ale that I've just brewed. I bulk prime my brews and then bottle them. Just wondering when cold conditioning is done. Should it be done straight after bottling or should the bottles be allowed to carb first? Does it matter?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Bribie G]

I cold condition all my ales, sometimes up to a fortnight, to settle all the shyte out and let them "mature" before bottling or kegging. However this is best done before bottling.
I rack into one of these, with gelatine, and flush the headspace with CO2 and chill to about 0 degrees.



Then about 3 days before bottling I add Polyclar.
Then keg and a few bottles left over.

Alternatively if you ferment in a temp controlled fridge then after primary, crank the fridge down to zero for a week or so.
By adding priming sugar to a bottle then immediately fridging it you achieve nothing IMHO

Edit: cold conditioning in bulk then bottling leaves the shyte in the CC vessel. Bottling and then cold conditioning leaves the shyte still in the bottles.

 

[barls]

its normally done before bottling to reduce the amount of sediment in the bottle.

 

[bullsneck]

IMHO, I cold condition the fermentor after 14 days. This ensures the yeast is done, both fermenting and cleaning up after themselves. I usually cold condition from 3 to 7 days for an ale but I am in no rush when creating brews. Each to their own.

 

[Bribie G]

Yes, if you can get your production line ahead of schedule you can afford the luxury of holding brews in cold conditioning (fridge space permitting) and have well finished beers into keg and bottle.
I recently kegged and bottled an ale out of primary in order to save some time, as I needed the fridge space, and it's turned out chill hazed to buggery and a bit rough compared to a brew with very similar recipe that was CCd for 3 weeks, and turned out smooth as a baby's bum and crystal clear when cold.

 

[peaky]

I wait until I get a steady FG reading, rack to a secondary fermenter, then get the fridge down to about 1 degree for a week or so to cold condition. Then I let it warm back up to fermenting temp to bottle (this could be unneccesary, I'm not exactly sure), then leave the bottles at room temp to carb.

 

[peaky]

Yes, if you can get your production line ahead of schedule you can afford the luxury of holding brews in cold conditioning (fridge space permitting) and have well finished beers into keg and bottle.
I recently kegged and bottled an ale out of primary in order to save some time, as I needed the fridge space, and it's turned out chill hazed to buggery and a bit rough compared to a brew with very similar recipe that was CCd for 3 weeks, and turned out smooth as a baby's bum and crystal clear when cold.

Interesting that the longer cc times make such a big difference to your beer, I've only ever chilled for a week tops. I've got some extra fridge space so I might chill for longer this time and check the difference. I've got nothing to lose :icon_cheers:

 

[timryan]

Gday Guys just a question. I dont have a fridge but wouldnt mind CC. ive had an ale brewing at 19 degrees for the last 10 days. if i switched off the immersion heater and put some ice around it to drop the temp down would it make a difference in the scheme of things or because i dont have a fridge is it best not to worry?

 

[manticle]

While not ideal, cooler temps will still help.

To the OP: As mentioned, cold conditioning is usually done prior to bottling once final gravity is reached. It is better to leave the brew for a few days at ferment temps before chilling as it allows the yeast to clean up a few by products of fermentation.

If as you suggested, you were to cold condition immediately after bottling, the yeast in the bottles would not be active and would not carbonate the brew. Therefore cold conditioning in the bottles would be done after carbonation, not before. However for reasons mentioned above, better to do it with the whole brew prior to bottling.

If you have the room though, carbonated bottles are best stored in cool or cold conditions.

@peakydh: It is not necessary to allow the brew to warm to room temp after cold conditioning.

Agree with Bribie G on the difference time in cold makes to the maturation of a brew.

 

[michael_aussie]

When cooling down .... is it OK to drop from 18 (or whatever you ferment at) down to 1 or whatever you CC at immediately, or should it be over a period of time??

If it should be gradual, how do people do this? ... A few degrees every few hours?

Also.. what is the ideal CC temperature???

I brew dark and red ales.

 

[manticle]

Even sticking in the fridge at 2 degrees won't be immediate. I stick mine straight in. You could drop it gradually if you have a fermentation fridge - I believe it's recommended for lagers from d-rest temp and I believe it's graduated over several days. White and Zanaisheff suggest that dropping quickly can create esters and shock proteins. I leave my beers at ferment temp for around a week after FG so I don't know how that affects things.

Ideal temp is as cold as possible (not so it freezes though) - I would aim for between 0 and 4.

 

[peaky]

@peakydh: It is not necessary to allow the brew to warm to room temp after cold conditioning.

Agree with Bribie G on the difference time in cold makes to the maturation of a brew.

Too easy. I just cranked my fridge down to zero this morning to cc an ale. I'll leave it 2 weeks then bottle.

Cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[cpsmusic]

I'm still a bit confused about this. In my original post I didn't make clear that I don't have a fridge that I can put my fermenter in. However I've just bought a new fridge for the kitchen and there's enough space in it for me to store about a dozen bottles in one of the shelves. I was thinking of using this for cold conditioning the bottles.

If as you suggested, you were to cold condition immediately after bottling, the yeast in the bottles would not be active and would not carbonate the brew. Therefore cold conditioning in the bottles would be done after carbonation, not before.

Once the batch is in the bottles and bulk primed does it matter whether the cold conditioning occurs before carbonation or after?

 

[peaky]

I'm still a bit confused about this. In my original post I didn't make clear that I don't have a fridge that I can put my fermenter in. However I've just bought a new fridge for the kitchen and there's enough space in it for me to store about a dozen bottles in one of the shelves. I was thinking of using this for cold conditioning the bottles.



Once the batch is in the bottles and bulk primed does it matter whether the cold conditioning occurs before carbonation or after?

I believe that the idea of cold conditioning your brew is to help clear it of yeast etc before bottling. Yeast and hop debris fall out of suspension in cold conditions, but yeast also become far less active in cold conditions (especially ale yeast), hence waiting until fermentation is finished before chilling the beer. If you chill your beer straight after bottling, the yeast will become less active, increasing the time it takes to carb up. Chilling your beer after it carbonates is good for serving and storage but that's about it I think.

Hope this makes sense, I've had a few Sunday arvo bevvies.... :chug:

 

[speedie]

cold conditioning is as stated it is after ferment and prior to bottling kegging etc
once in the bottle and primed it then becomes maturation time
dont be put off by the sediment in the bottle as a lot of famous beers have this and are rated world class beers
i have often wondered on the case of autolisis as some of these beers have excess amounts of yeast and dont display any off traits at all
lagers are filtered for presentation purposes only
i cant think of one commercial beer that comes to mind that is bottle carbonated

if you are going to continue in this hobbie it would be a great assett to your brewing rig to procure another dedicated fridge for temperature control and monitoring it is well worth the effort and expence
most verge pickups now days bin working fridges of all sizes


if you really wont to try conditioning with your fridge clean and flush your bottles fill to the lip cap and store
after conditioning time open decant into prime flushed bottles and recap
to my thinking this has some chances of infection getting into the brew but it will give you an idea of the exercise
as another thought prime and bottle some of the same brew set aside and sample next to your conditioned bottles this will give you a good heads up on weather it is worth all the time put in
cheers speedster B)

 

[barls]

lets see bottle carbonated,
murrays, potters, chimay and most of the rest of the belgians, coopers to mention a few.
not doing very well there speedie once again.

 

[HeavyNova]

lets see bottle carbonated,
murrays, potters, chimay and most of the rest of the belgians, coopers to mention a few.
not doing very well there speedie once again.

Not sure about LC Pale Ale in the 330ml bottles but I think the 500ml pint bottles say that they use bottle carbonation too.

 

[going down a hill]

most verge pickups now days bin working fridges of all sizes


cheers speedster B)

You lost me on that one.

 

[barls]

hes talking about council clean ups.

 

[speedie]

still at it dont you blokes read anything on these threads or are you cyber bullies
read my post both of you stone throwing dumbwits
once it sinks in name one commercial lager that is bottle carbonated
if you please try to be a little more constructive and give some advise to the thread so the reader can gain some kwnoldge from your or my mistakes
is this too much to ask
speedie :huh: